SUFFERERS of chronic lung conditions are fighting to salvage a life-saving support group.

Breathercise Teesside, provides a lifeline to its 30-plus members, keeping them out of hospital by helping them manage their conditions.

However, the group is now under threat, following plans to close the Southlands Centre on Ormesby Road as part of swingeing cuts by Middlesbrough Council.

The group meets at the centre every Tuesday to exercise with the help of a specialist nurse. The group is also a vital social lifeline for many who live on their own.

Many members are referred by GPs or specialist pulmonary nurses following diagnosis of a health complaint or surgery.

Now, however, fears have been raised other venues may not have space for them, will not have adequate parking or will not be able to provide storage facilities for their equipment - and that could mean the end of the vital club.

Diane Dunne, who helps run the group she attends every week with husband Cyril, an 86-year-old retired firefighter who has chest problems, said: “The group has been going for 14 years and it’s a lifeline. Coming here gives members a better quality of life.”

Speaking of plans to move some services to the Neptune Centre at Berwick Hills, Diane said: “I don’t think there’s a proper room and we would have to go upstairs. I don’t know how they are going to fit us all in.”

Other members raised concerns over parking facilities there.

Eric Jenkins, 86, said he “wouldn’t be here today” if it wasn’t for Breathercise, which he joined 10 years ago.

Speaking of his “nightmare” if the group was moved to the Neptune, which is also close to a busy supermarket, he said: “I live next door to it and it takes us 20 minutes to get out of there.”

Another member added: “The majority of people have blue badges and there won’t be enough facilities for them. There are three or four disabled spaces.”

Others expressed fears hospital admissions among them would increase if they lost the group.

Pam Goodchild said: “My doctor said joining Breathercise is the best thing I could have done. You can see the difference in your health.”

Diane, who has written to Middlesbrough Council expressing hers and the group’s anger and concern over the Southlands closure, said: “It’s been proven that if people come here there are fewer admissions to James Cook – that means less of a pull on the health service. They are not looking at the whole picture with these cuts.”

Letters support museum

PRESSURE is being put on the Government to secure the future of the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum after more than 360 letters were sent to them about its closure.

A total of 362 direct letters had been sent to the Government to ask them to step in and help Middlesbrough Council keep the museum in Marton’s Stewart Park open.

The museum is now shut for the winter as part of the council’s money-saving measures and its long-term future is in doubt.

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Labour MP Tom Blenkinsop requested the information about the letters in a parliamentary question.

He said: “I put a question to culture ministers. I was pleased to hear that they have had that response and that so many people in Middlesbrough cared enough to send letters to the Government. You can see that there is a collective view of residents in that area. They are proud of the fact that James Cook came from Marton and want to keep this facility open.”

Mr Blenkinsop said he was disappointed with the Government’s “dismissive response” to the number of letters.

Mr Blenkinsop said: “I was told that it was ‘a Middlesbrough Council matter’ which misses the point that these letters were sent to culture ministers in the hope they would help, given the national significance of the museum.

“Instead of shrugging this matter off, Ministers should do the decent thing and offer to see how they and their culture ministry civil servants can help Middlesbrough directly.”

Mr Blenkinsop said he thinks the museum still has a future but he and residents will have to “fight to secure it”.

He said: “We need to put more pressure on the Government. The more you pressure them, the more attention you get.

“I think this should be a priority for the Government. The North-east, particularly Teesside, is always missing out. The museum does have a future and we need to make sure that is a certainty.”

Edward Vaizey, minister of culture, communications and creative industries, said: “The museum is the responsibility of the local authority who must decide on how best to fund and deliver its cultural services.”